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Ra Ra Riot

I may be a little bit behind the times but nonetheless the news of Ra Ra Riot drummer John Pike's death has been truly shocking and saddening. Read the NME.com news report [link].

Ra Ra Riot are one of the most hotly tipped bands around at the moment, booked as tour support to the rather ace Tokyo Police Club and a band that were soon to be featured on this blog. Admittedly, I'd only listened to Ra Ra Riot last month having heard of their impressive performances around London earlier in the year but their ability struck me from the very first listen. My first impressions were of an upbeat version of The National, with a similar blend of strings veering them towards Arcade Fire. A more carefree and less pretentious version, of course. To be robbed of their talented drummer at the tender age of 23 has understandably hit the other band members hard. They released the followed statement on their website [link]:

We are all in a state of shock. Time has been dragging on slowly since the early hours of Saturday morning. This has been a difficult time filled with numbing sadness and many unanswered questions. We all have tremendous love for our friend, and we have an endless supply of wonderful memories of him. This has feltlike the unraveling plot of a tragic piece of fiction…nothing would have prepared us for such an immense loss.

We are deeply saddened by this, and we know that John was loved, admired, and respected by everybody who was fortunate enough to have met him. We are grateful tohis parents for raising such a wonderful person. We are lucky to have known him, and he has had a profound effect on us as people, friends and musicians. We will miss him.

The band have also made the funeral arrangements for John public to allow fans to participate. Read their MySpace blog entry for more details [link]

The track I've uploaded is from a 2006 demo but consult the Hype Machine [link] for plenty of other tracks, including a vibrant cover of 'Hounds Of Love'.